Henry Lawson and comparitive Australian Landscape writing

I recently had a request from a senior student, she was reading Henry Lawson for English and wanted to read some comparitive short stories that talked about the Australian landscape. The following list is worth exploring at your local public library, I haven't looked at all these volumes yet (as we don't have them all at Manly Library) but if you do use them please comment back to me on this blog as to whether they were useful. Some are anthologies of short stories by multiple authors, others are multiple short stories by the one author
Malouf, David - Antipodes
Malouf, David - Dream Stuff
Astley, Thea - Collected Stories
Astley, Thea - Hunting the Wild Pineapple
Astley, Thea -It’s Raining in Mango
Hospital, Janette Turner - Collected Stories 1970-1995
Hospital, Janette Turner - Dislocations
Hospital, Janette Turner - Isobars
Jolley,Elizabeth - various titles with the subtitle 'Short stories'
White, Patrick - The Cockatoos
Winton, Tim - The Turning
Classic Australian Short Stories. Collected by Maggie Pickney
Australian classics by Jane Gleeson-White
The Faber Book of Contemporary Australian Short Stories
Australian Literature: An Anthology of Writing from the Land Down Under
The Macmillan Anthology of Australian Literature
Baynton, Barbara “The chosen vessel” was written in the 1800’s but is available on-line at the Australian classics website -
http://www.australianclassics.com.au/files/Baynton-TheChosenVessel.pdf
Louise, Youth Librarian, Manly Library

Are you a future LEADER?

Nominations are closing soon for the 6th Australian National Leadership Camp
in Sydney from Monday to Thursday 7 – 10 July 2008. Nominations close Friday 20 June.
The National Leadership Camp (NLC) is a premier leadership training program for young Australians. Each year it brings together up to 200 students (14-18 years old) from across the nation.
The focus of NLC is to develop, challenge and encourage Australia’s young people to be leaders who actualise their own potential and use their gifts and energies to serve others
and make a difference in their school and communities.
NLC is officially endorsed by the Australian Government’s Department of Education, Employment and Workplace Relations. It receives no government funding however
and is maintained through the generous support of businesses and individuals who desire to invest in Australia’s next generation of leaders.
“I now realise leadership is about serving others and that a leader needs a vision. I really want to be a 'server' to help plant seeds in people's lives and to see them flourish!”
Heather Mendelsohn, Ravenswood School for Girls, NSW
Rising Generations places a strong emphasis on mentoring by providing a highly skilled and experienced leadership team to co-ordinate the camp.
Nominations are encouraged from students who are in Years 9-12.
Check the on-line registration process at www.risinggenerations.org.au Information from
Bec Heinrich, CEO, Rising Generations Ltd
posted by Louise McMorland, Youth Librarian, Manly Library

Northern Ireland in Modern History

Are you studying the Northern Ireland conflict in Modern History. This link www.bbc.co.uk/history/recent/ takes you to the British Broadcasting Company's history site. There is a link on this page that connects with information on the conflict on Northern Ireland

Conflict in Context
The Road to Northern Ireland, 1167 to 1921How did the complex political and social landscape of Northern Ireland evolve? A brief overview of key historical events.
The Troubles, 1963 to 1985How did Northern Ireland descend into the 'Troubles', and what was done to find a solution?
Fact Files - A brief guide to political parties and paramilitaries in Northern Ireland.
Legacy - The words of people whose lives have been affected by the Troubles.

Louise McMorland, Youth Librarian, Manly Library (from a State Library of NSW reference)

Australia-Japan essay competition

Senior students in Year 11 and 12 can enter the 26th Australia-Japan relations Essay Contest 2008. The Senior Division essay topic is to "Discuss ways that Australia and Japan can work towards finding solutions to the world-wide problem of climate change". Full details are on the website http://www.au.emb-japan.go.jp/e_web/education/Essay.htm entries close in September 2008.
The first place prize winner receives a return air ticket to Japan with rail passes and accommodation included.
Louise McMorland, Youth Librarian, Manly Library

Issues today - School violence

Visit the School Angels website to see how local communities are working together to stop violence and bullies in schools http://www.schoolangels.com.au/ The School Angels are regional groups designed to help better support schools with resources sharing, aid, management, counselling and anti-violence and tolerance programs. The School Angels is about parents, teachers and schools helping each other. Anti-violence needs to be taught at school, as does tolerance education.

Louise McMorland, Youth Librarian, Manly Library

What are Youth doing on-line? survey results

Youth Field Xpress, May 2008, ATTITUDES AND OPINIONS, Youth Poll 2008
The results of the 16th national Youth Poll of the attitudes and opinions of 15- to 18-year-olds in Australia were released in early May. This year's poll found that while the internet plays a critical role in young people's lives (64 per cent had a social networking site such as MySpace and Facebook), 22 per cent had also experienced online bullying or harassment. Youth Poll 2008 also found that:* 58 per cent of respondents supported same-sex marriage;* rates of youth binge drinking, smoking and other drug use had all declined compared to previous Youth Poll surveys;* body image was a major concern to 54 per cent of those surveyed;* 46 per cent knew a young person who had attempted or committed suicide; and* 72 per cent supported the Australian government's signing of the Kyoto Protocol.
Information from the Youth Field Express website http://www.acys.info/publications/newsletter/current_edition
Louise McMorland, Youth Librarian, Manly Library

Grants for great ideas - The Spark Fund

Igniting Innovative Ideas!
Applications are now open for The Foundation for Young Australians for Spark Fund granting round for young people. The Spark Fund financially supports young people aged 12-25 years to ‘Ignite an innovative idea’ which makes a positive contribution to the community and enhances their skills and experiences. Individuals or small groups of young people aged 12-25 years, may apply for a Spark Fund grant. Applications can be made at any time and the Selection Committee will meet to decide on applications received.
Applications for the next round of The Spark Fund need to be received by the 30 June 2008.
Potential applicants can find out more by logging onto http://www.youngaustralians.org/
Louise McMorland, Youth Librarian, Manly Library

Burma and China - messages of hope from Australian schools

You can read a selection of messages written by Australian schools and students to survivors in Burma and China on the online gallery created on the School Aid website http://www.schoolaid.org.au/. Over 80 schools have thus far registered for School Aid’s Burma Appeal. You can check out which schools are involved on the site and, if you’re a school, register for the Appeal or Messages of Hope projects!
Daniel Bolotin, National Program Manager

Crime Fiction

Are you trying to read widely in the crime/mystery fiction genre ? Try finding some short stories, these come in 2 ways.
1. as compilations with multiple authors in the one volume
2. multiple short stories by the one author
Reading a short story by a crime author gives you a sense of how they write, without reading a full fiction novel
ALSO available at some libraries are adult readers, these are designed for adults who are learning english as a second language who have to improve their literacy skills. These readers are often short versions of classic authors in this field eg Raymond Chandler, Lynda La Plante, Arthur Conan Doyle
Louise, Youth Librarian, Manly Library

BELONGINGS ideas list now available

Are you doing Belongings for the 2009 HSC? - our 3 libraries have got together and created a fabulous list of possible texts to use. Don't forget to ALWAYS check with your teacher before choosing a text. Follow the link back to the www.insidebreak.org.au website to see the list.
Louise McMorland, Youth Librarian, Manly Library

Global incidents and terrorism

Do you like tracking global events? Have a look at the Global Incident Map http://globalincidentmap.com/home.php it shows the latest 30 global incidents.
Louise, from a State Library of NSW referral